How does Esusu access and protect my data?

Has your property management company or property owner recently told you about using Esusu? If that’s the case, we’re excited to be working with you!

We’re a financial services company for renters offering rent reporting, access to rent relief, and other wealth-building resources. You likely have some questions about who we are, what rent reporting is, and how we will keep your personal information safe. 

We’re here to answer these questions and help you learn how we’re working to be one of the most trusted brands in renter financial health. 

 

A little about Esusu

We partner with real estate companies around the country to enable renters to establish and build their credit through Esusu Rent Reporting. We work directly with your property manager to report every on-time rent payment you make to the credit bureaus to impact your score positively. We’ve written a blog where you can learn more about how Esusu Rent Reporting affects your credit.

Many of our residents also have access to Rent Relief, a 0% interest loan program that provides rental assistance to those facing financial hardships.

If your property is already using Esusu, you’ll be learning more about the process through our onboarding communications.

 

How Esusu gets in touch with residents 

When we begin working with a property management company or building owner, we get access to the contact information of every resident. This helps ensure that we give each resident a chance to choose whether or not they would like to participate in the Esusu program.

If you’ve recently moved into a building that is already using Esusu, you should have seen some information on us in your leasing booklet. You’ll begin receiving onboarding emails from us explaining the program on the first day of your lease.

 

Reporting your rental payment information to the credit bureaus

To report your on-time rental payments to the credit bureaus, we need to know a little bit about who you are. Fortunately, that doesn’t come with any extra steps for you. 

Some of your personal information is already stored within your property’s payment management system (the place you go to pay your rent online). Esusu’s software connects to that property management system and feeds only the relevant payment information directly to the three major credit bureaus: Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion.

When passing along this data to help improve your credit score, we follow all guidelines set out by the Consumer Data Industry Association (CDIA). CDIA is the voice of consumer reporting. They make sure that every time something is reported to your credit report, it is done so in a safe, secure, and fair manner. 

If we ever reach out to you to confirm some of your personal identifiable information, it is done so through a secure channel.

 

Storing your personal information

In order to report your rental payments and help you access the rent relief program, Esusu stores some of your personal data.

As part of our commitment to keeping customer data secure, Esusu undergoes regular penetration testing, as well as security reviews by credit bureaus and third-party auditors. In addition, our systems are designed to comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), which protects information collected by the credit bureaus, medical information companies, and renter screening services.

How do we ensure that your data is as safe and secure as possible?

Esusu is a secure, encrypted data processing and storage platform based in the cloud, that interfaces with property management systems via certified APIs. The system retrieves resident rental payment information for transformation and submission to credit bureaus on a monthly basis. Property managers interact with the system via a secure dashboard interface hosted in the cloud. File submissions to Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian are undertaken via secure file transfer protocol to separate web portals controlled by each bureau.

  1. Data storage and processing protocols: Data is stored and processed in the cloud on secure platforms owned and maintained by independent third parties that are SOC 2 Type 2 certified.
  2. Data encryption: All customer and partner data is encrypted at rest and in transit. This means that any data we have (like a birthdate) is turned into a code. If it were to be accessed by an unauthorized party, it would be a jumble of numbers and letters instead of the actual data.
  3. Data permissions and authentication: Access to customer data is restricted to authorized personnel, and team members use multi-factor authentication to access cloud-based service providers.
  4. World-class security certifications: Esusu is SOC 2 Type 2 certified, one of the most stringent security certifications in the country. SOC 2 is a voluntary compliance standard for service organizations, specifying how we should manage customer data. All Esusu team members are required to adhere to the company’s security policies and code of conduct.

 

If you move and are no longer reporting rent with us, or if you choose to opt out of the program at any time, Esusu will close the trade line and terminate on-time rental payment reporting on your behalf. In compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), we keep records of any data we have used for business purposes. 

Additionally, if you ever choose to opt out of the Esusu program, you will no longer receive marketing or service communications from our team. We will only use your contact information for marketing purposes if you have opted in to these communications. 

 

Have additional questions? We’re here to help! 

Renters whose properties are currently using Esusu Rent Reporting should check their email for onboarding information. You can also call, text, or email us at the information provided below with additional questions. Or check out our FAQs.

If you think your property is using Esusu Rent Reporting, but you haven’t received an email from us, reach out to your property manager directly.